Disclaimer: All familiar SVU characters belong to Dick Wolf. I'm just having a little fun with them.
I love all of your predictions…and yes, I consider what you all have to say. Sometimes, they're just what I need to get over a case of writer's block. Popular theory is that Rev. McMillan is a bad guy. Is he? Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out!
Chapter 21
Alex woke to the sound of her phone vibrating on the nightstand next to the bed. She reached for it, and Olivia's arm, still locked around her waist, pulled her back.
"Let it ring…" the brunette mumbled, eyes still closed. Alex flicked open the phone, looking back at Olivia.
"Hello?" she said in a loud whisper.
"Alex, hi! It's Joan. Did I wake you?" Alex rolled over and glanced at the clock. It was well past 10:00 in the morning.
"No, it's fine, Joan," she said, unlocking Olivia's arm from around her waist and crawling out of bed. Olivia mumbled something incoherent, and Alex immediately shoved her pillow back into the brunette's arms in an almost automatic response. Halfway across the room, she realized what she had done, and how much more meaning the gesture had now. Olivia was sound asleep again with her arms curled around the blonde's pillow.
"I'm so relieved Olivia was found. I was calling because, well, I'm sure things are awkward right now, and you're busy taking care of Olivia. I thought you two might enjoy a home cooked meal from me," Joan said. Alex's mouth watered at the very thought of Joan's cooking. Her meals were practically legendary at the church.
"That sounds…wait, how did you know Olivia was found?" Alex asked, puzzled. As far as she knew, the only person who knew of Olivia's rescue outside of the police was Rev. McMillan.
"It's all over the news!" Joan exclaimed. Alex immediately fished for the remote and flicked on the TV.
"…one survivor in this massacre just outside of the city, Detective Olivia Benson, who was reported missing almost a month ago. Detective Benson was released from Mercy General last night and is expected to make a full recovery. Back to you, Mark," the reporter on the screen said. Alex's jaw dropped. This just made life more difficult. Now that the press knew about Olivia, they would be hounding the two women non-stop for interviews.
"Alex?" Joan asked, after she had been silent for some time.
"I'm here, Joan. Dinner would be wonderful. I don't feel much like cooking, and God knows Olivia won't feel like doing anything," she replied.
"Wonderful! I'll be by around 6:00," Joan said. Alex gave her Olivia's address and the two women bid farewell. Alex padded back into the bedroom, still tired. She carefully extracted her pillow from the brunette's clutches and slipped back under the covers. Olivia mumbled something incoherent and grinned as she pulled the blonde back to her.
XxXxX
Olivia blinked a few times, shrugging the sleep from her body. She looked around the room and at the blonde sleeping next to her. For a brief moment, she was afraid that she was still dreaming. She reached next to her and stroked the blonde's hair, and the sensation registered in her fingertips and traveled up to her brain, fully convincing her that she wasn't dreaming. She gently kissed Alex's temple and scurried into the bathroom.
Alex heard the water running as she stirred from her slumber. The covers on Olivia's side of the bed were tossed aside, but the sheets were still warm. Alex padded her way out to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee before returning to the bedroom to make the bed. Olivia emerged from the bathroom minutes later with a terrycloth robe wrapped around her body and a towel perched on top of her head.
"Morning, beautiful," Olivia said.
"Afternoon," Alex said, letting a half smile play across her face. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm ok," Olivia replied. A look of concern washed over Alex's face. Olivia sat on the bed next to Alex, lacing her fingers into those of Alex. "Really, I'm fine. You can stop looking at me like I'm going to break."
"But…" Alex began.
"Shh…" Olivia replied, holding her index finger to Alex's lips. "I just want to put all of this behind me and put things back to the way they were."
"Olivia, that might be harder than you think," Alex said.
"No, Alex, don't start. I don't want to hear about how I need counseling, and how it takes time, and all of the other speeches I give victims on a daily basis. I know just as much about being a victim as you do, if not more. So please, Alex, don't do this," Olivia said, almost begging.
"I know you know all of that, which is why I wasn't going to say anything. Liv, honey, I don't know how, but this is all over the news," Alex informed her. Shock played across Olivia's face.
"What?" she asked in a hushed whisper. "How?"
"Who knows, but the point is that the story is out there, and your name was specifically mentioned. Look, maybe we…" Alex was cut off by her phone again.
"Cabot," she said, grabbing the device.
"Alex, it's Elliot. Have you seen the news?" he asked.
"Yeah, I saw it," she answered.
"Has Liv?" He asked.
"I just told her about it," Alex said.
"And?" he asked.
"She's not happy about it, and quite frankly, neither am I. I want to know who leaked this to the media, and I want that person's head on a silver platter," Alex said. Her voice had taken the same take-no-prisoners tone she used when she dealt with the scum of the earth. Olivia couldn't help but grin at the blonde's protectiveness of her. She quietly slipped off the bed and slipped into the closet to change into a pair of her favorite jeans and a comfortable cotton top. She thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of having her legs encased in fabric after being forced to wear skirts for so long. When she returned to the bedroom, Alex's phone had been tossed into the center of the bed, and the blonde was now in the shower. Olivia walked out into the kitchen and poured a steaming cup of coffee as she waited for Alex to emerge.
Coffee was one of the many things Olivia had missed while she was held prisoner. She inhaled the familiar aroma and allowed the sweetened liquid to linger on her tongue for just a second longer than normal. She was convinced that she would never be able to keep up with the demands of her job without the liquid currently in her mug. Alex joined Olivia as soon as she was dressed. The two women had done this very thing every morning for nearly a year, and yet, somehow this morning felt awkward.
"Anything special on your agenda today?" Olivia asked, breaking the silence.
"Not really. An old friend called this morning. Apparently, she saw the news coverage, and she want to bring us dinner tonight," Alex said, trying to sound casual about the whole thing.
"Oh, is this someone I know?" Olivia asked.
"Um…no, actually. But she's someone I knew when I was growing up. She was sort of like a second mother to me when I was a teenager, and my mother and I didn't get along very well," Alex answered. Please, Olivia, don't push this. Don't be the detective today.
"So how did you meet her?" Olivia pressed. Alex considered the question carefully.
"She's just a friend of the family," Alex answered. Alex didn't want to tell Olivia that she knew Joan from church. She was worried that Olivia would panic. And yet, Olivia knew there was something Alex was hiding from her.
"Alex, where do you know her from? And stop dodging the question," Olivia said, setting her jaw.
"She went to church with my parents," Alex said, her voice barely audible. She braced herself for the fury Olivia was about to unleash. Olivia sat back in her chair and contemplated her next move. There was no way she wanted a church-going woman in her home to judge her and her life, but arguing with Alex wasn't the way to handle this. In the end, it would only cause more problems between the two of them.
"I have an idea," Olivia said, walking around the table and sitting in the chair next to Alex. The blonde's blue eyes fixed on the brunette as she moved. "Why don't you call Joan back and tell her that we need some alone time," she said, leaning in towards the blonde. Alex swallowed hard. Olivia's lips came crashing down on hers and her tongue urged the blonde's lips apart. Alex returned the kiss and a slight moan slipped across her lips.
"I promise I'll make it worth your while," Olivia said as she paused for air. One hand tangled in Alex's hair as the other lodged itself on the blonde's hip. She leaned in and found the spot behind Alex's ear that she knew would make the blonde putty in her hands. She licked and nibbled, eliciting sweet moans from Alex.
"Liv…Olivia…stop," she said. If Olivia stopped now, Alex would win.
"Please, baby, do it for me," Olivia murmured, returning to her previous actions.
"Liv, baby, as much as I want you, we can't do this…not just…ohhhh…" Gotcha, Olivia thought. Olivia gracefully maneuvered the two of them so that she could lift Alex. She deposited the blonde on the bed and hovered over her, reaching for the phone. She held it up to Alex.
"Call her," Olivia said. She pushed a hand under the hem of the blonde's shirt and traced circled on her flat tummy, sending shivers through Alex's body. Alex's brain was mush. She had missed the attention of the brunette, and Olivia always knew just which buttons to push to get her way.
"I can't, Liv…I already told her…oh, God…" she moaned as Olivia's hand reached upwards to brush against her already hardened nipple.
"Yes, you can, and when you do, I'll give you want you so obviously need." The huskiness in Olivia's voice wasn't helping the situation. "Make the call," Olivia whispered in Alex's ear as she covered the blonde's body with her own. Alex's head was reeling. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind, she knew that Olivia was manipulating her. The question was, though, was she going to allow herself to be manipulated by the woman she loved more than anything in the world?
Hmm…still don't know much more about what happened to Olivia or why, but what's up with her? Please comment, review, predict…whatever floats your boat.
And once again, if you would like your very own copy of Lioness, you can find it at www. createspace. com/ 3587527 (no spaces). For all of the latest updates, please "Like" my fan page on Facebook. You can find it under "Summer Jayne."